Tempting a Texan

by Carolyn Davidson

  No matter. Wherever Nicholas was, she would be with him, and with that she would be content.

  “You about ready?” he asked, standing beside the wagon, his gaze intent on her.

  “I’ve packed our clothing, most of it anyway. Some I just left behind, things we can do without.”

  “All right, then,” he said with a nod. “I’ll unload Faith’s belongings, and she can sort them out later. I don’t want to let daylight slip away without some miles behind us.”

  Faith moved quickly down the steps and reached for a valise. “This won’t take long, Nicholas. I’ve learned to travel light.” Her laughter sparkled and Nicholas shot her an admiring glance. And then he picked up a basket in each hand and followed her up the steps and into the house, his gaze meeting Lin’s as she held the screened door open for him.

  Her quick smile and warm look was a reminder of the night just past, and the night before. Nicholas did not spare his attention, and she rejoiced in the quiet message his beautiful eyes offered. I love you. As surely as if he spoke it aloud, she felt the comfort of his heart’s song radiate to touch her, penetrating deeply, comforting her. And she was content.

  “I’ve often wondered why a trip never seems as long when you’re returning home,” she mused.

  “Probably because we have a light buggy and a quick-footed mare,” Nicholas said, grinning down at her. “And this time we know where we’re going.”

  “We knew last time, when we left that evening, didn’t we?” she asked.

  “I had a map,” he admitted. “But we were traveling blind, sweetheart, and in the dark, to boot. And then we wandered all over the place, covering our tracks before we headed in the right direction.”

  “Well, I’m glad we’ll be home to sleep in our own bed tonight.”

  “We left our mattress at the farmhouse,” he reminded her. “I think we’ll be making do in the spare room.”

  “I don’t mind,” she whispered. “I slept there alone for a while.”

  “And I wished I were sharing that bed with you, more than one long night.”

  She tilted her head back and looked up at him, her smile teasing. “Did you, now?”

  “From the first day,” he admitted with a crooked grin. “I’m afraid I had designs on you from the very beginning.”

  “I heard from a lady at the emporium that a young woman in town had her sights set on you before I arrived. I think she was warning me off.”

  “Patience,” he muttered. “I sicced Thomas on her. Probably wasn’t a nice thing for me to do, but he didn’t mind. Even gave him leave to go calling on her in my new buggy.”

  “He’ll be surprised to see you show up at the bank, won’t he? I wonder if he’s managed all right.”

  “He’s fine,” Nicholas said confidently. “I trained him well. And he won’t be very surprised. I wired him that we were coming home.”

  Home. The word had a pleasing lilt to it, Lin thought. But she’d better not get too attached to it. With travel to New York looming ahead, she might have to rearrange her thinking to include life in a big city once more. She’d think in a positive manner, she decided. Whatever Nicholas wanted would suit her just fine.

  The town was dark, every light extinguished. The moon was a thin sliver, high in the sky, but the stars lit their way, past the bank and the mercantile, around one side of the town square where empty benches sat, awaiting tomorrow’s occupants.

  “That’s where I play with Sally,” Amanda murmured from her spot between Lin and Nicholas.

  “I didn’t know you were awake, sweetie,” Lin said, bending low to peer into the child’s face. “We’re almost home.”

  Amanda yawned widely. “I know. I’ll bet Katie will be glad to see us, won’t she?” And then she jerked upright. “Is my kitty all right?” Bending, she reached to touch the basket at her feet, where the black, half-grown cat slept.

  “She’s fine,” Lin assured her, tucking the girl closer to her side. “Stay awake for a few more minutes, all right? And then you can sleep for the rest of the night in your bed.”

  “Yes.” The word was a soft whisper, and Amanda slumped a bit, as if she could not sit upright. “I’m gonna sleep for a long, long time, Linnie.”

  “I suspect you will,” Lin answered, amused by the vow, knowing that excitement at being home would no doubt prevail once the sun rose in the sky.

  “I’ll pull the buggy into the yard through the side gate,” Nicholas said quietly. “The mare can wait until morning to go to the livery stable. I’ll put a halter on her and tie her lead to a tree. There’s a bucket in the shed I can fill with water for her.”

  “I think the grass could probably use some trimming anyway,” Lin said.

  They opened the back door and entered the kitchen in the dark. And then saw the glow of a lamp shining beneath the door just off the hallway, where Katie’s room was located. The knob turned and Katie appeared, holding her lamp high. “Well, land sakes. Would you look at what the wind blew in.” Her face glowing with welcome, she held out her free hand to Amanda, and bent to press a kiss on the child’s forehead.

  “Welcome home,” she said quietly. “I had a notion you’d be finding your way back before long. Mr. Cleary said you had things to do, and he figured you’d be showing up right soon.”

  “Mr. Cleary was right,” Nicholas said agreeably. “Now, if you’ll take care of these two for me, Katie, I’ve a horse to tend to out back.”

  The stairs were long, Lin thought, and her shoulder ached. No matter how well sprung the buggy, it had been a tedious ride, and she was more than ready for a comfortable bed.

  “You go along, now,” Katie said comfortably. “I’ll take care of the little one. Just you get into bed, you hear?”

  Lin yawned, stifling the sound with her palm, and nodded her thanks. The bed was wide and the sheets smelled of fresh air. Her chemise would do for a gown, she decided as she pulled her stockings off and wiggled her toes. It was a simple matter to turn to her undamaged shoulder and place her head on the fluffy pillow.

  Nicholas found her there, only ten minutes later. She slept soundly, her hands folded beneath her chin, one leg showing from beneath the sheet, its slender lines beckoning him. He stripped quickly, securing the door before he stretched out behind her. One long arm circled her waist, and he pulled her into the cradle of his body.

  She grumbled beneath her breath, and he grinned. Her hair was as he liked it, tangled from the wind, unpinned in a careless manner, loose around her shoulders and down her back. She was all his, this woman he’d claimed. And he smiled as he recalled the first night she’d spent in this house. Remembered his solitary stroll across the yard, smoking a cigar as he wondered how he would keep his hands from her.

  And now she belonged to him.

  Chapter Seventeen

  New York City

  An oasis in the midst of the city, Central Park served only to add to the spirit of homesick ennui that held Lin in its grasp. At the edge of a duck pond, Amanda held court over a flock of birds who fought noisily over the food she tossed over their backs. Backing from the creatures, she turned to offer a gleeful grin at Lin.

  “I think they like me,” she said, laughing aloud. She emptied the sack Lin had provided for the ducks’ luncheon with a flourish of seeds scattering hither and yon and then scampered to the relative safety of the park bench, drawing her feet high from the few stragglers who followed her flight.

  “This is fun,” she exclaimed. “I wish Uncle Nicholas was here to see the ducks with us. Don’t you?” Looking up at Lin, she was the picture of a well-to-do young lady, albeit only a very youthful version. Celebrating her sixth birthday in New York City would be an occasion to remember, complete with a formal photograph taken at a studio and a late supper at a restaurant Lin had never visited.

  Amanda and Lin had both visited a well-known modiste, where clothing had been made to order. Even now, they were as well-garbed as any fashionable female in the city. And yet…Lin l
ooked upward at the blue sky…it was not enough. Her most fervent wish was to be back in Texas, where that same sky shone a more brilliant blue, where the clouds floated like fleecy cabbages high above, and where the sun burned with a merciless heat during the long days of summer.

  “Ah, here you are.” Nicholas appeared before them, his smile benevolent as he scanned them. And well he might be pleased, she thought with a trace of rancor. It was because of him that they presented such a delightful appearance. One that matched his own. “I’ve finished that bit of business, and we’re free for the rest of the day. What would my ladies like to do?”

  “Would you like to feed the ducks with me, Uncle Nicholas?” Amanda asked, her feet touching the ground as she slid from the bench.

  “That would be my fondest wish,” he prevaricated, with a sidelong look at Lin, as if he would share his amusement with her.

  “When will we be in court?” she asked, as he searched his pockets for money with which to purchase another sack of food for the spoiled creatures in the pond.

  He looked distracted for a moment, then pressed coins into Amanda’s palm and waved her on her way to where a small stand was tended by an elderly gentleman. They watched together as she skipped down the path and paused to speak to the vendor.

  “Tomorrow morning,” he said quietly, then turned his attention fully on Lin. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

  “Nothing,” she said brightly, aware that he saw beneath her facade of cheerful interest.

  “Tired of the city already?” he asked, settling beside her on the bench.

  “You may as well stand, Nicholas,” she said. “Amanda will be here in a moment and you’ve committed yourself to the delightful pastime of dodging duck doo-doo.”

  “Duck doo-doo? Is that closely related to horse droppings?”

  “Well, whatever it is, mind you wipe your boots on the grass before we go back to the hotel.”

  Amanda dashed up, breathless and vibrant. “I’m ready, Uncle Nicholas.” She cocked her head and looked up at him. “If you held me, the ducks wouldn’t be able to peck at my shoes.”

  “And so you’d allow them to peck at mine, I suppose,” he returned, bending to lift her in his arms.

  “You have bigger feet and they won’t scare you,” she announced, and then looked over his shoulder at Lin. “We’ll be right back, Linnie, and then maybe we can go to that place where they have pink ice cream in dishes.”

  “I told you you were spoiling her,” Lin called after them, and received only a flash of white teeth in response as Nicholas turned his head to grin at her.

  Indeed, the restaurant they visited had pink ice cream in pretty dishes, but Amanda was allowed a dip only after she had eaten her luncheon. Lin struggled with a plate of delicately flavored seafood and noodles, and felt herself under Nicholas’s watchful eye as they walked through the array of tables toward the entrance half an hour later.

  “Are you feeling well?” he asked, one hand under her elbow as they crossed the avenue. The smell of horses, blending with the ever present scent of manure, made her stomach churn, as if she were surrounded by a mass of strange and unfamiliar circumstances. And indeed she was.

  It had been only a few months since she’d lived here in the city, but in that length of time she’d come to appreciate the wide-open spaces of Texas, had learned to love the slow pace of life and the friendly atmosphere of a small town.

  “I’m just a little nauseous,” she said in an undertone, thankful for his support as they dodged the leavings of a passing horse and carriage.

  “Do you think you’re coming down with something?” He sounded more than concerned now, worry roughening his voice, and she hastened to reassure him.

  “No, of course not. I’m just feeling lost in the crowd, I think.”

  They had reached the sidewalk, and Nicholas pressed their way toward the hotel, Amanda skipping beside him, clinging to his other hand. “Maybe a nap would settle your stomach,” he suggested, waiting as the doorman held the ornate door for their entrance.

  “I want you to feel well in the morning when we appear in court.”

  “I will,” she told him, scraping up a smile for his benefit.

  The courtroom was crowded with reporters waiting outside the double doors, their queries tossed about in a jumble of words as Nicholas ushered his charges past their ranks. “Ignore them,” he muttered beneath his breath, and then offered a nod to one persistent gentleman who tugged at his sleeve.

  “We’ll give you a statement after the hearing,” he said quietly, and with that the crowd subsided, allowing them passage.

  The judge looked threatening, Lin thought, and Amanda was subdued, her feet dangling from the chair she occupied, her eyes wide as she surveyed the small chamber. To their left was a table at which Vincent Preston sat beside another gentleman, both of them dressed in black. Lin met her adversary’s gaze and felt the heat of his anger seep into her very pores, so volatile was his expression as he scanned her. And then he transferred his attention to the child be side her.

  Amanda was blissfully unaware of the degree to which she was observed, intent only on the judge, flinching visibly when he banged his gavel on the desk, calling the court to order. “He’s noisy,” she whispered, turning to Lin with a frown.

  “I think he scares me,” she added in a small voice. “Are you sure I have to talk to him?”

  “We don’t know for certain,” Lin said quietly. “We’ll wait and see.”

  A lengthy petition was read, then commented on by the lawyer who represented Vincent, followed by questions by the judge, who seemed unimpressed by the glowing report of Vincent’s suitability to be guardian to his deceased partner’s child.

  And then it was time for Nicholas to respond. He had chosen not to be represented by a lawyer, and his words were simple and to the point. Stating the wishes of his half sister and her husband, he told how Amanda had been brought to him, how he had provided a home for her, and related the date of his marriage to Lin.

  The judge slanted a long look at him as Nicholas took his seat, and then settled his attention on Lin. “Are you Carlinda Donnelly, young woman?”

  She rose. “I am, sir.”

  “And did you marry Mr. Garvey for the express purpose of providing him with a degree of respectability in order for him to be a fit guardian for the child?”

  Lin felt a blush rise to cover her cheeks. “No, sir. I did not. I married Mr. Garvey because I love him, and my greatest delight is in living in his home and helping him provide a good life for Amanda.”

  “Well done,” Nicholas whispered, touching her skirt with a discreet tug.

  “Are you familiar with Mr. Preston?” the judge inquired.

  “Yes, sir, I am.”

  “And do you consider him to be equally as good a candidate for the child’s guardian?”

  The attorney sitting beside Vincent rose quickly. “Your honor, I must protest. We know this woman’s opinion is slanted.”

  “Sit down,” the judge ordered, looking through his spectacles at the attorney. “I am asking her opinion for my own reasons.” He looked again at Lin. “Well?”

  “I wouldn’t allow any child to be under Mr. Preston’s care if it were in my power to stop it from taking place,” she said firmly. “If Amanda’s parents had wanted such a thing to happen, they would have made provision for it in their wills.”

  The judge folded his hands and leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. “May I ask you why you feel so strongly, young lady?”

  “Mr. Preston has made it his business to send men of low repute to try and take Amanda by force. They were under his orders to bring her to New York, and made no effort to ensure her safekeeping, only handled her roughly. He has tried to have my husband killed in order to have a better chance for custody, and—”

  “Your honor! I must object to this woman’s scandalous lies. She has nothing on which to base her story.” Vincent’s attorney was livid with rage.

 
“Ah, but she has, your honor.” From the back of the hearing room, a strong voice demanded attention, and the judge looked at the speaker with respect.

  “Mr. Grayson? What do you know about this matter?”

  Vincent looked over his shoulder and paled visibly as Horace Grayson walked to the front of the room, halting in front of the judge’s high desk. Vincent leaned toward his lawyer and muttered beneath his breath; and beside her, Lin felt Nicholas’s tension as if it were a viable entity.

  “Mr. Preston has sought to bring bodily harm to Nicholas Garvey and his family. I have proof of this. One ruffian is outside the courtroom as we speak and is willing to testify to that end. Another person has given me a written statement regarding Mr. Preston’s plan to bring about an attempt on Garvey’s life.”

  “Your honor,” Vincent’s attorney said hastily. “This man is prejudiced in this matter. It has come to our attention that Horace Grayson is none other than the father of Nicholas Garvey, a relationship he has avoided acknowledging in the past.”

  “And what bearing does that have on this issue?” the judge asked mildly.

  “He has shown himself not to be trusted,” the lawyer blustered, unwilling to look at Mr. Grayson, his hands busily shuffling his papers as he spoke.

  “I don’t see the connection. However, we will delve into the subject.” He turned to Mr. Grayson. “Are you Nicholas Garvey’s father?”

  Mr. Grayson nodded. “I am his father, yes. I was not aware of his existence for many years, but once I knew who he was, I watched his progress as he rose in the business community in the city. I didn’t approach him until he offered an olive branch, so to speak, in my direction, thinking he would not be pleased to have it bandied about that we had a relationship of sorts.”

  “And how have you come into this case?”

  “My son asked for help, and I notified authorities and those who had connections with Mr. Preston to help me with my investigation. I ask at this time that the court press charges against Vincent Preston for the attempted murder of my son and his wife, and the abduction of the child they are raising as their own.”